ABOVE: National Emergency Grant crews bundle logs Wednesday to be removed from the banks of the Great Miami River. BELOW: Simon Wells operates a tractor to pull debris Wednesday from the Great Miami River. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | NATE SMITH)

Even as there remains lots of work to be done, National Emergency Grant administrators intend to suspend operations Friday and begin closing out the program within about two weeks.

The NEG program has been awarded $1,143,046.33 since it began around the first of the year. There is a “slim” chance additional funding may become available, according to grant administrators, but plans are under way to return equipment leased as part of the program.

Funds have been used to secure equipment, pay wages and acquire supplies and services, primarily from local vendors, said Alan Hale, retired Logan County Solid Waste Management District coordinator and one of the grant’s managers.

Currently, there are 17 participants in the NEG program.

Wednesday, the NEG crew was clearing debris and logjams from the Great Miami River. During the spring months, the crew cleared out some five miles of creeks and tributaries around Bellefontaine. Attention was turned this summer to the Great Miami River.